Comparison

Chess vs Chess Premium

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Chess

Enjoy a classic chess experience on your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad. This app offers a clean interface, beautiful graphics, and intuitive gameplay perfect for casual players. Play against a computer opponent, review game history, and track your progress.

Highlights
  • 1- or 2-player games on one device
  • Tap-to-move piece selection
  • Highlights legal moves
  • Full game history and move list
  • Built-in chess clock
  • Get hint feature
  • Undo moves
Features
Read full description

tChess Lite is the popular chess game designed just for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. tChess is like a virtual chess board on your device. It's fun and easy to use--perfect for the casual player! This game features a very clean UI design and beautiful graphics. tChess is a fast and stable program. Pick up a game in your free time... and there's no problem listening to your music while you play. (tChess Lite is a fully-functional version of tChess for casual chess players. If you're an active player and want enthusiast-level features, take a look at tChess Pro, which is over 1000 ELO stronger and has received rave reviews from Grandmaster Susan Polgar, PE's Chess Cast, and iPhone app critics.) tChess Lite Features: - Perfect for 1- or 2-player games (on the same device, no network connection required) - Tap-tap to move pieces - Highlights legal moves - View full game history in the Move List - Go back or forward move by move and replay completed games - Built-in chess clock - "Get hint" feature to improve your game - Easy to undo moves - Saves your game automatically if you exit the program or take a call - Play against any ELO rating from 500 to 1200 - Computer opponent is the most fun and realistic for beginners and casual players - Use the Profile feature to play rated games and track your progress - Over 15,000 openings for fresh, varied games tChess Lite is developed by Tom Kerrigan, author of the TSCP and Stobor chess engines.

About

Chess Premium

Enjoy a classic chess experience without ads or internet. Play against a challenging AI with adjustable difficulty or a friend offline. Features stunning visuals, instant auto-saves, and undo support for uninterrupted gameplay.

Highlights
  • No ads or internet required
  • Adjustable AI difficulty levels
  • Offline two-player mode
  • Stunning Retina display visuals
  • Instant auto-save
  • Undo support and score tracking
Features
Read full description

Chess Premium — The Chess Game Your iPhone Deserves No ads. No internet required. Just chess, beautifully designed for your iPhone and iPad. Whether you're picking up chess for the first time or looking for a worthy opponent at 2am, Chess Premium delivers. Play against a sophisticated AI with adjustable difficulty — from patient teacher to ruthless opponent — or hand the phone to a friend for a classic two-player match. What makes it Premium: • Stunning visuals built for Retina displays — not ported from another era • AI engine that actually challenges you, with difficulty levels that grow with your game • Offline play, always available — no Wi-Fi, no account, no nonsense • Auto-saves instantly when you take a call or switch apps • Undo support, configurable player names, and full score tracking No subscriptions. No ads. Buy once, play forever. Download Chess Premium and play your first game in seconds. ———— Love classic games? Optime makes a full suite of board and card games — including Backgammon Pro, Checkers Premium, and Sudoku. Search ""Optime Software"" to see them all.

Screenshots

Chess4 screens
Chess Premium4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Chess at $0.99 against Chess Premium's $9.99. Chess Premium's advantage is ratings volume (5.4K vs 78) and chart position (#41 vs unranked). On rating, review sentiment, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Chess costs $0.99 and Chess Premium $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Chess against 4.7 for Chess Premium. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chess Premium has 5.4K ratings behind it against 78, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 85% of Chess's written reviews are positive against 80% of Chess Premium's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Chess ships an update every 5 months, Chess Premium every 3 months. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Chess versus Chess Premium: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChessChess Premium
Price$0.99 — better$9.99
Rating4.6 (78 ratings)4.7 (5.4K ratings) — better
Positive reviews85.1% of reviews — better80.4% of reviews
Number of ratings785.4K — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 3 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
Best chart rank—#41 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS26.015.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB39 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTom KerriganOptime Software LLC

Customer experience

Chess

All ratings77 ratings
Positive90.9%
Neutral3.9%
Negative5.2%
Written reviews268 reviews
Positive85.1%
Neutral8.2%
Negative6.7%

Chess Premium

All ratings5,179 ratings
Positive93.2%
Neutral3.4%
Negative3.4%
Written reviews504 reviews
Positive80.4%
Neutral6.2%
Negative13.5%

User reviews

Chess

From 78 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great app
  • 🚀 Smooth gameplay
  • 💡 Helpful hints and features
  • 🎨 Excellent graphics and visuals
  • 🧠 Challenging AI opponent

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional bugs and crashes
  • 🔍 Limited difficulty levels
  • 🤖 AI can be predictable at times
  • 💤 Lack of online/multiplayer options

Chess Premium

From 5.4K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great for practicing chess
  • 🚀 Fast gameplay
  • 💡 Adjustable difficulty levels
  • 👍 Simple and intuitive interface
  • 👍 No ads in premium version

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional bugs and glitches
  • 🐛 Issues with detecting checkmate
  • 🐛 Pawns moving incorrectly
  • 🐛 Pieces disappearing from the board
  • 🐛 Slow performance in premium version

Bugs and requests

Chess

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Inconsistent pawn movement rules
  • Stalemate issues and computer refusing to resign
  • Connectivity problems with Game Center

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to set up custom board positions
  • More difficulty levels and ELO ratings
  • Online/multiplayer functionality
  • Notification options for opponent moves
  • Chess puzzle/training mode

Chess Premium

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Incorrect checkmate detection
  • Pawns moving in illegal ways
  • Pieces randomly disappearing
  • Slow performance after upgrade
  • Ads still showing after purchase

Requested features

6 requests
  • Option to turn off stalemate
  • Ability to save and load games
  • Notation or move history display
  • More board and piece theme options
  • Tutorials or strategic tips
Show 1 more
  • Ability to play against friends

In-app purchases

None

Chess

No in-app purchases

None

Chess Premium

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Chess free?
Chess costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Chess Premium free?
Chess Premium costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Chess or Chess Premium?
Chess Premium is rated higher. Chess averages 4.6 out of 5 from 78 ratings, while Chess Premium averages 4.7 from 5.4K ratings.
Do Chess or Chess Premium have ads?
Neither Chess nor Chess Premium shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Chess or Chess Premium?
Chess ships an update every 5 months, and Chess Premium every 3 months. Most recently, Chess was updated on October 24, 2026 and Chess Premium on October 24, 2026.

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